Common IV

Question 1

exalt

Answer 1

exalt
verb: praise or glorify

The teenagers exalted the rock star, covering their bedrooms with posters of him.

Question 2

tortuous

Answer 2

tortuous
adjective: marked by repeated turns and bends; not straightforward

Because the logic behind McMahon’s side of the debate was so tortuous, his audience came out either completely confused or, worse, feeling they’d been tricked.

Question 3

admonitory

Answer 3

admonitory
adjective: serving to warn; expressing reproof or reproach especially as a corrective

At the assembly, the high school vice-principal gave the students an admonitory speech, warning them of the many risks and dangers of prom night.

Question 4

decorum

Answer 4

decorum
noun: propriety in manners and conduct

“You will obey the rules of decorum for this courtroom or spend the night in a jail cell,” said the judge to the prosecutor.

Question 5

contingent

Answer 5

contingent
noun: a gathering of persons representative of some larger group

A small contingent of those loyal to the king have gathered around the castle to defend it.

adjective: dependent on (usually used with upon)

Whether the former world champions can win again this year is contingent upon none of its star players getting injured.

Question 6

eradicate

Answer 6

eradicate
verb: to completely destroy

I tried eradicating the mosquitos in my apartment with a rolled up newspaper, but there were too many of them.

Question 7

pragmatic

Answer 7

pragmatic
adjective: guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory

Rather than make a philosophical appeal to the Congressmen, the Speaker decided to take a far more pragmatic approach, making small side-deals that would add votes to his bill.

Question 8

implacable

Answer 8

implacable
adjective: incapable of making less angry or hostile

Win or lose, the coach was always implacable, never giving the athletes an easy practice or a break.

Question 9

copious

Answer 9

copious
adjective: in abundant supply

In midsummer, there are copious popsicle stands at the beach; in the winter, there are none.

Question 10

opaque

Answer 10

opaque
adjective: not clearly understood or expressed

The meaning of the professor’s new research was opaque to most people, so no one asked any questions.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 11

provincial

Answer 11

provincial
adjective: characteristic of a limited perspective; not fashionable or sophisticated

Maggie’s enthusiasm about her high school teams seemed provincial to her college classmates, all of whom were following a nationally ranked college team.

Question 12

exonerate

Answer 12

exonerate
verb: pronounce not guilty of criminal charges

The document clearly indicated that Nick was out of the state at the time of the crime, and so served to exonerate him of any charges.

Question 13

adamant

Answer 13

adamant
adjective: refusing to change one’s mind

Civil rights icon Rosa Parks will forever be remembered for adamantly refusing to give up her seat on a public bus–even after the bus driver insisted, she remained rooted in place.

Question 14

forthcoming

Answer 14

forthcoming
adjective: available when required or as promised

The President announced that the senators were about to reach a compromise, and that he was eager to read the forthcoming details of the bill.

adjective: at ease in talking to others

As a husband, Larry was not forthcoming: if Jill didn’t demand to know details, Larry would never share them with her.

Question 15

myopic

Answer 15

myopic
adjective: lacking foresight or imagination

The company ultimately went out of business because the myopic managers couldn’t predict the changes in their industry.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 16

intransigent

Answer 16

intransigent
adjective: unwilling to change one’s beliefs or course of action

Despite many calls for mercy, the judge remained intransigent, citing strict legal precedence.

Question 17

laudable

Answer 17

laudable
adjective: worthy of high praise

To say that Gandhi’s actions were laudable is the greatest understatement; he overthrew an empire without violence.

Question 18

refute

Answer 18

refute
verb: prove to be false or incorrect

No one could refute his theories or propositions, and that is why he was esteemed by all his colleagues in the philosophy department.

Question 19

pedantic

Answer 19

pedantic
adjective: marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects

Professor Thompson was regarded as an expert in his field, but his lectures were utterly pedantic, focused on rigorous details of the most trivial conventions in the field.

Question 20

espouse

Answer 20

espouse
verb: to adopt or support an idea or cause

As a college student, Charlie espoused Marxism, growing his beard out and railing against the evils of the free-market.

Question 21

ostentacious

Answer 21

ostentatious
adjective: intended to attract notice and impress others; tawdry or vulgar

Matt wanted to buy stone lions for front of the house, but Cynthia convinced him that such a display would be too ostentatious for a modest house in an unassuming neighborhood.

Question 22

incorrigible

Answer 22

incorrigible
adjective: impervious to correction by punishment

Tom Sawyer seems like an incorrigible youth until Huck Finn enters the novel; even Sawyer can’t match his fierce individual spirit.

Question 23

coufound

Answer 23

confound
verb: to cause confusion

Though Harry loved numbers, calculus confounded him.

verb: mistake one thing for another

Americans often confound sweet potatoes with yams, and refer to both vegetables by the same name.

Question 24

abstruse

Answer 24

abstruse
adjective: difficult to understand; incomprehensible

Physics textbooks can seem so abstruse to the uninitiated that readers feel as though they are looking at hieroglyphics.

Question 25

largess

Answer 25

largess
noun: extreme generosity and giving

Uncle Frank was known for his largess, so his nephew was sad when he did not receive a present for his birthday.

Question 26

implausible

Answer 26

implausible
adjective: describing a statement that is not believable

The teacher found it implausible that the student was late to school because he had been kidnapped by outlaws on horseback.

Question 27

petulant

Answer 27

petulant
adjective: easily irritated or annoyed

Although the three year old was often described as mature for his age, he was petulant and whiny whenever his father forgot to remove the crust from his sandwiches.

Question 28

discrete

Answer 28

discrete
adjective: constituting a separate entity or part

What was once known as Czechoslovakia has since split into two discrete, independent nations.

Question 29

soporific

Answer 29

soporific
adjective: inducing mental lethargy; sleep inducing

Although the professor is brilliant, his bland monotone gives his lectures a soporific effect.

Question 30

construe

Answer 30

construe
verb: interpreted in a particular way

The author’s inability to take a side on the issue was construed by both his opponents and supporters as a sign of weakness.

Question 31

denigrate

Answer 31

denigrate
verb: charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

Count Rumford denigrated the new theory of heat, demonstrating that it was wholly inadequate to explain the observations.

Question 32

temperance

Answer 32

temperance
noun: the trait of avoiding excesses

Welles wasn’t known for his temperance–he usually ate enough for two and drank enough for three.

Question 33

indifference

Answer 33

indifference
noun: the trait of seeming not to care

In an effort to fight indifference, the president of the college introduced a new, stricter grading system.

Question 34

ignoble

Answer 34

ignoble
adjective: dishonorable

In 1919, the World Series was rigged–an ignoble act which baseball took decades to recover from.

Question 35

bumbling

Answer 35

bumbling
adjective: lacking physical movement skills, especially with the hands

Within a week of starting, the bumbling new waiter was unceremoniously fired.

Question 36

pundit

Answer 36

pundit
noun: someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field

Steven Pinker’s credentials are unquestioned as a pundit; he has taught at MIT and Stanford, teaches at Harvard, and has published a number of influential books on cognition, language, and psychology.

Question 37

idiosyncrasy

Answer 37

idiosyncrasy
noun: a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual

Peggy’s numerous idiosyncrasies include wearing mismatched shoes, laughing loudly to herself, and owning a pet aardvark.

Question 38

apocryphal

Answer 38

apocryphal
adjective: being of questionable authenticity

The web is notorious for sandwiching apocryphal stories between actual news.

Question 39

underscore

Answer 39

underscore
verb: give extra weight to (a communication)

While the hiking instructor agreed that carrying a first aid kit could be a good idea under certain circumstances, he underscored the importance of carrying enough water.

Question 40

acerbic

Answer 40

acerbic
adjective: harsh in tone

Most movie critics are acerbic towards summer blockbusters, often referring to them as garbage.

Question 41

blatant

Answer 41

blatant
adjective: without any attempt at concealment; completely obvious

Allen was often punished in school for blatantly disrespecting teachers.

Question 42

ingratiate

Answer 42

ingratiate
verb: gain favor with somebody by deliberate efforts

Even though Tom didn’t like his new boss, he decided to ingratiate himself to her in order to advance his career.

Question 43

unscrupulous

Answer 43

unscrupulous
adjective: without scruples or principles

In the courtroom, the lawyer was unscrupulous, using every manner of deceit and manipulation to secure a victory for himself.

Question 44

burgeon

Answer 44

burgeon
verb: grow and flourish

China’s housing market is burgeoning, but some predict that the growth is merely a bubble and will burst much like the U.S. real estate bubble of 2008.

Question 45

exacting

Answer 45

exacting
adjective: requiring and demanding accuracy

Though his childhood piano teacher was so exacting, Max is thankful now, as a professional pianist.

Question 46

aberrant

Answer 46

aberrant
adjective: markedly different from an accepted norm

When the financial director started screaming and throwing food at his co-workers, the police had to come in to deal with his aberrant behavior.

Question 47

hackneyed

Answer 47

hackneyed
adjective: lacking significance through having been overused

Cheryl rolled her eyes when she heard the lecturer’s hackneyed advice to “be true to yourself.”

Question 48

expound

Answer 48

expound
verb: add details or explanation; clarify the meaning; state in depth

The CEO refused to expound on the decision to merge our department with another one, and so I quit.

Question 49

reconcile

Answer 49

reconcile
verb: make (one thing) compatible with (another)

Peggy was unable to reconcile her kind friend Jane with the cruel and merciless character Jane played on television.

Question 50

iconoclastic

Answer 50

iconoclastic
adjective: defying tradition or convention

Jackson Pollock was an iconoclastic artist, totally breaking with tradition by splashing paint on a blank canvas.